The city of Orlando, which has worked hard to build strong downtown neighborhoods, now is hearing from residents of one of those neighborhoods about one of those proposed shelters.

The Colonialtown neighborhood is upset about Covenant House's proposal to build a shelter for homeless youths on Mills Avenue.

Feeling the heat, Orlando Mayor Glenda is proposing that the city consider a 120-day moratorium on the opening of such facilities so the city can study whether the city needs to change its policies about them. She maintains that Orlando has exceeded a cap on the number of residential facilities allowed within city limits.

If that's the case, the city has ignored its own regulations until now.

Orlando needs to take an honest look at how it got to this point and what needs to be done next.

Orlando City Council members, however, should make sure that several issues are addressed when they consider the moratorium at an initial hearing Monday.

First, any examination of the issue shouldn't be confined to one or two neighborhoods. The city needs a comprehensive study. Such facilities provide valuable services, and because they have a need to be centrally located, they often gravitate toward downtown Orlando. Placement of such facilities, however, is important.

Colonialtown isn't the only downtown neighborhood concerned about shelters. Some residents of the Parramore neighborhood are beginning to raise their own concerns. Parramore, which in recent years has been the subject of city redevelopment efforts, has a larger number of shelters in its neighborhood than any other in Orlando.

The most pressing problem the city must address before considering a moratorium, however, is that of homeless youths.

The city must identify a safe, temporary shelter where homeless youths can stay before winter sets in.

Covenant House would have provided 54 beds for youths on a site it plans to buy on Mills Avenue.

The reality is that the teens that Colonialtown residents want to keep from their neighborhood already are walking the streets of Orlando. At night, most sleep in ditches and behind bushes. Their only other option is to sleep in shelters that except adult men - which most of them reject.

If the city plans to delay the opening of Covenant House, it has a moral obligation to find a place for those youths as soon as possible.